NEW DELHI: Global software firm Microsoft has rolled out in India DigiGirlz, a programme aimed at driving high school girls towards science and engineering by giving them an opportunity to learn about careers in technology, connect with the company's employees and participate in hands-on workshops.

"Lack of women in sciences and engineering is a global problem. Awareness is the key," said Jacky Wright, vice-president of Microsoft IT, who was in India for the launch of the programme that was started by the US firm at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington in 2000.

Girls account for less than 15% of the students at the elite Indian Institutes of Technology. Institutes in the next tier are only slightly better. The National Association of Software and Services Companies estimates that women constitute about 30% (800,000) employees in the IT business process outsourcing sectors. Experts say the focus should be on the younger students, something that Microsoft is striving through its programme by reaching out to 12-to-14-year-olds in eighth and ninth classes.

"The students are aware of technology more than ever before. Almost 100% of them have Facebook accounts, but the idea is to make them think of technology as a career," said Wright, who oversees all Microsoft IT enterprise services and platforms, adding that the company is focusing on increasing awareness. "Tracking is something we can do later," she said, after the launch of the programme in Hyderabad last Thursday, when about 80 girl students from classes eight and nine visited the Microsoft IT-India offices.

Chennai-based recruitment consulting firm Avtar Career Creators had conducted a study of class XI girls on career decisions last year. "We found that the career conversations start much earlier and, by class XI, it is all decided and the girls have embarked on their career journeys. Class eight and nine is where the real action is," said Saundarya Rajesh, founder president of the firm.

Prof RK Shevgaonkar, director at IIT-Delhi said, "Perceptions are changing fast. It's a matter of time before you see more women in technology schools like IITs."

Microsoft is planning to expand the programme to more cities and schools across the country, Wright said, naming India and Brazil as the focus countries. "These economies are growing and we need the programme in these countries," said Wright, who has championed the programme globally. Talking to the girls about Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer and Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg as role models, she said, "Girls need to see role models. If they see it can be done, they will do it."

In a related development, Microsoft is set to roll out in the US the Springboard programme that it had launched in India for stay-at-home mothers in October last year. The company had launched the first-of-its-kind programme to attract women engineers back to work with second careers. A team from the company's headquarters met the first batch of such engineers in Hyderabad last week. "We should be seeing an expansion of the programme globally in July when the new financial year starts," said Rajiv Burman, HR director of Microsoft IT-India. A second batch will be launched in May and the initiative, so far run only in Hyderabad, will also be rolled out in Gurgaon and Bangalore offices.